You might have seen a couple of pictures, or even the YouTube clip of it, but here’s my blog piece about my recent trip out to Barcelona, with the wife, and my mates Miles and Laura. The few days in Barcelona were great, but for any wine-o’s out there, the trip to Priorat was, and is, an absolute must!
Timmer from Catalunya Wine set it all for us. He was a star all day. He picked us up from our flat, put up with Miles and me talking absolute rot the whole 2 hour drive out to the hills, and (more importantly) managed to organize an absolutely unforgettable day round his favourite spots.
We hit three top wineries, a top lunch spot, and even had time to get in a bit of sightseeing at the Scala Dei monastery. The sun was beating down, the factor 50 sun cream was flowing (I love being ginger!), and the wine was outstanding.
The wine makers in Priorat, especially the ones I met, are really starting to turn the screws. Gone are the days of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon that’ll sell cheap on the export market. These guys are making serious wines now, out of grapes that are native and thriving. Garnacha (red and white), Monastrell, and the white grapes of Cava fame like Parellada and Xarel-lo.
I could talk for days about what we got up to, but best thing for me was to see this wine region own their grapes and produce wines that are from no where else. That’s what makes a great wine region for me, and that’s what makes Priorat something to admire!
Cheers
Mike
BTW If you live in Europe and want to try any of these wines, Tim from Catalunya Wine has said any of my readers can get a 10% discount on his website using the discount code “PBMMW”…lovely stuff!!!
